Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, November 16
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Arkansas State
Men's Hoops Welcomes Arkansas State Thursday
11/14/2017 10:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles take on their first Division I opponent of 2017-18 in the Red Wolves at 7 p.m.
| Men's Basketball vs. Arkansas State |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team hits the hardwood once again Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. when it welcomes Arkansas State to the Convocation Center as part of the 2017 Hoosier Tipoff Classic.
Other games in the Hoosier Classic for Eastern Michigan include a home game against Howard, Saturday Nov. 18, a road game at Indiana, Nov. 24, and a final away matchup with South Florida, Sunday, Nov. 26.
Fans can catch the game on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley providing play-by-play and Greg Steiner serving as the analyst.
LAST TIME OUT: EMU once again rolled to an easy victory over a non-Division I opponent, turning aside Michigan-Dearborn 97-73 Sunday, Nov. 12 at the Convocation Center.
Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie shined for the second straight game, scoring a career-high 27 points while shooting 71 percent from the floor. Fellow Redshirt junior Paul Jackson scored an EMU-career high 15 points, while lone senior Tim Bond joined him at 15 while adding six assists, four steals, and three blocks.
Junior James Thompson IV notched career double-double number 41 with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the Eagles' win.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 41st career double-double with his 14 point and 13 rebounds performance against Michigan-Dearborn Sunday, Nov. 12. He passed Eastern Michigan and NBA legend George Gervin for second-most in program history, and now only trails Kennedy McIntosh on the all-time double-double list.
WHO'S THE NEW GUY?: Elijah Minnie has put together a tremendous first two games as a member of the Green and White. The redshirt junior scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, had three blocks, and swiped three steals in his debut against Spring Arbor, and added a 27 point, seven rebound and four assist performance against Michigan-Dearborn. The 22 points were the most scored in a debut-game since Willie Mangum IV score 18 in 2015, and the 49 combined points is the most by a new player in the modern statistical era (1998-present).
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT: Eastern followed up its 32-point victory over Spring Arbor (the first time the Eagles won by 30-or-more points since Dec. 22, 2016 against Marygrove (101-48)), by defeating Michigan-Dearborn by 24 points. The combined 56 point margin-of-victory in the first two games is the most to start the season for EMU since the 2013-14 season.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE: Thursday's contest against Arkansas State is just the second all-time meeting between the two squads, and the first meeting since Dec. 19, 1981. The two met at the Champion Holiday Classic in the first matchup, as ASU defeated EMU 70-60. Stating the obvious: neither team had a player alive the last time the Eagles and Red Wolves did battle.
#DEFENDTHENEST: Eastern Michigan's defense has been one of the keys to its success to start the 2017-18 season, with the Eagles swiping 28 steals and blocking 16 shots (both tops in the MAC) in the first two games. EMU leads the conference with a +10 turnover margin early in the season, and also tops the league with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DIAPER DANDY DEBUTS: Redshirt freshman Ty Groce made a memorable debut in the 2017-18 opener, scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, stealing six passes, and grabbing four rebounds. The six steals marked the first time an Eastern player swiped five-or-more steals in a single game since Tim Bond did it Jan. 28, 2017.
Joining Groce in double-figures was true freshman Kevin McAdoo, who dropped 10 points on three-of-four shooting, including a two-for-three game from beyond the arc.
EMU PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN THE MAC WEST: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was selected to finish fourth in the MAC West Division for the 2017-18 campaign, the Mid-American Conference announced Thursday, Oct. 26. The Eagles received 103 total points, which was just four points behind third place. Additionally, junior James Thompson IV was named to the preseason All-MAC West Division Team.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 80 of its 104 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball. The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White have won 60 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 173-115 all-time mark.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern finishes its early season home swing by welcoming Howard to the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov. 18 as part of the 2017 Hoosier Tipoff Classic. After that, the Eagles hit the road for matchups at Indiana, Nov. 24, and South Florida, Nov. 26.
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